Apple Publishes iTunes LP and iTunes Extras for Developers

Apple.com has published a new page with information on iTunes LP and iTunes Extras for Developers:

Here’s everything you need to know to create a rich, interactive experience around your music and movies. All right in iTunes.

It includes the latest version of Apple's TuneKit (think WebKit HTML+CSS+Javascript with iTunes hooks), as well as templates, best practices, a development guide, and info on asset delivery and testing. It's not all automagical yet, however:

Those waiting for the US (and UK, Canadian, etc. honorific) Apple Online Store's Black Friday Sale -- the only sale Apple ever does -- can get a sneak preview as it's already Black Friday in Australia and Apple's deals are live. Call us down-underwhelmed (groan, we know) but really, who expected anything more than 8%-10% of iPod touch, iPods in general, Apple TV, and Macs?

If you're in Oz and have been waiting to pull the trigger, pull away. If you're in the UK or North America, check it out and see if there's anything pull-worthy for ya.

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Whether its the big black leather above, or some woolly mitts, when the weather outside turns frightful and you need to operate a capacitive touchscreen like the iPhone, you can save yourself some cash -- and frostbite -- with a little bit of sewing and a bunch of conductive thread.

Microsoft "Worked with Apple" on Silverlight for iPhone -- On the Server Side

Microsoft is working with Apple on getting Silverlight (their Flash-like technology) content onto the iPhone? Made our eyes widen as well, but it wasn't what we expected. Unlike the debate over Flash, and a Flash player/plugin for iPhone, this doesn't involve a Silverlight player/plugin at all. According to Microsoft User Experience Platform Manager Brian Goldfarb:

"So we've worked with Apple to create a server-side based solution with IIS Media Services," Goldfarb continued, "and what we're doing is taking content that's encoded for smooth streaming and enabling the content owner to say, 'I want to enable the iPhone.' The server will dynamically make the content work -- same content, same point of origin -- on the iPhone. We do this with the HTML 5 tag, in many ways."

Mplayit for Facebook and iPhone

When TiPb posted on Mplayit, being a huge iPhone and Facebook fan, I decided to take a closer look and here's what I found -- Mplayit takes browsing and buying iPhone apps to a whole new level. Mplayit is an application on facebook, or a website on your iPhone, that allows you to find apps, read a description, rating and an iTunes link to download them. Sound familiar? There's more, Mplayit not only does these things well, but also gives you YouTube videos of apps and ways to share the app. In facebook you can share on your wall or send a message. There are also links to share via Twitter or email. On the iPhone, you can share via the mail app.

Apps can also be added to Mplayit's "collections" feature. Simply click the add to my collection link on your favorite app. Mplayit will also "learn" over time what apps to recommend to you based on what you add to your collection. You can search for apps by typing the name in the search box, or you can choose to look at apps based on category.

I am very excited about this new way to browse apps for your iPhone. The added value of video and wide array of sharing options along with collections make this one compelling alternative to the iTunes app store.

Have friends that don't have an iPhone? That's ok, word on the street says that Mplayit will be launching soon on BlackBerry and Android platforms. Check out the screenshots below for examples of the desktop app and iPhone webpage. You can read more about Mplayit on their corporate site, or on Twitter.

Jabra BT2080 Reality Review

I had an opportunity to check out the Jabra BT2080 [$39.95 - iMore Store link] and not only is this headset reasonably priced, but has some nice functionality too! You can check it out in the in the . Now, let's check out why makes this headset nice!

Tesco to Sell iPhone in Time for Holidays

The US sent the iPhone to Walmart and the Shack, so it stands to reason the UK would retaliate with their own mass-market venue, Tesco. In other words, Brits can now stock up on razors, lettuce, and O2-powered iPhones all at the same time.

Our only question remains -- how long before America raises the stakes again? How long before you can hit a drive-through at 4am and the mechanical clown speaker asks "ya want an iPhone with that? Supersize to 32GB?"

iPhone Users Suffering from 'Searching for Service' Bug

Users over on Apple's support forums are complaining of a bug that has been around since the first generation iPhone and the 1x software. Even on the 3.1.2 software users are randomly getting their iPhones stuck without service while the phone says it is searching for a signal. This bug does not discriminate either, it does not care what cell phone carrier your are with, whether your device is jailbroken or not, or model of iPhone.